DAVIS, Calif.—SVA Architects recently opened a new office in Davis. Centrally located at 1450 Drew Ave, Suite 150, SVA’s Davis office is only 1.5 miles from UC Davis, and a 15-minute drive to downtown Sacramento. The new office will allow the firm to better serve its current clients in Sacramento and the Central Valley and expand its capabilities throughout Central and Northern California.

Senior Associate Partner Christopher Bradley, AIA, CSI, CCCA and Principal Nathan Herrero, AIA, LEED AP BD+C will continue SVA’s leadership in the Northern California region.

SVA Architects has established itself throughout Northern California as a visionary leader for both community developments and educational projects. The firm designed Mirasol Village, a new mixed-income development that replaces a deteriorated housing complex with a new, sustainable, walkable community with its first phases opening in spring of this year. Also nearing completion for SVA is the reconstruction of Robla Elementary School in Sacramento, transforming the formerly aging facility into a modern, new campus. SVA has designed numerous award-winning projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including La Escuelita Educational Center, Albany Middle School Annex, Fruitvale Transit Village Phase IIB, Horner Middle School, and Serramonte Faculty & Staff Housing, among others.

Robert Simons, AIA, President of SVA Architects, stated, “The new Davis office will complement the Oakland office nicely, allowing our team and clients resources most convenient for each. Our office in Davis will provide a new hub to meet current demand and expand our overall capacity in Northern California. We’re excited to welcome new talent and take on new projects in the coming months.”

Founded in 2003, SVA Architects specializes in urban planning, architecture, and interior design of public, private, and mixed-use projects. Among the firm’s portfolio are civic, educational, residential, commercial and mixed-use developments.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.) and the American Institute of Architects, California Council (AIACC) recently recognized HMC Architects’ Floyd Farms at Leataata Floyd Elementary with an Award of Merit at the C.A.S.H./AIACC Leroy F. Greene Design and Planning Awards Ceremony on January 21.

Floyd Farms at Leataata Floyd Elementary will be home to a city-run community garden, Food Literacy Center’s cooking school and student gardens managed by the nonprofit’s program staff.

The $7 million future cooking school project is slated for completion by Spring 2021. Landmark Construction is the general contractor.

It will serve the 330 elementary school students enrolled at Leataata Floyd Elementary and their families, students throughout the Sacramento City Unified School District, and community members.

This ambitious and first-of-its-kind project is in partnership with the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), the City of Sacramento, The Mill at Broadway, which neighbors the school campus, and HMC Architects. Food Literacy Center currently operates out of a small, rented house which hasn’t allowed for the extensive community involvement they desire for their programming.

“As a young nonprofit, we haven’t had a ‘center’ where the community can come to us and cook,” said Amber Stott, founder and executive director of Food Literacy Center, in a statement.

The nonprofit currently delivers its hands-on cooking and nutrition classes to students and schools for free. The new state-of-the-art, green facility will include and support:

• Cooking School – Students will learn to cook healthy meals.
• Prep Kitchen – A place for Food Literacy Center staff and volunteers to prep for after school programs across the school district, focused on Title 1 schools.
• Training Space – Food Literacy Center staff will train future instructors of the curriculum and manage the day-to-day operations of the 2.5-acre project that will reach students daily.
• Community Programs – Including family cooking classes, school field trips, and more.

Said Assembly Member Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) in a statement, “I’m excited to see the Floyd Farms vision of bringing fresh produce to our local schools becoming a reality in Sacramento. This innovative model will increase children’s access to food literacy programs, which will build healthy eating habits that will benefit our students for years to come.”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. —A new K-5 school was unveiled recently in the Arden Arcade area of Sacramento—Dyer-Kelly, the first elementary school to be built in the San Juan Unified School District since 1992.

The new $50 million facility—a two-story building with an amphitheater—replaced the former 70-year-old school that was falling apart. The district paid for the project with community-approved bonds.

Lionakis was the architect on this impressive project, and Clark/Sullivan Construction served as general contractor. Design plans began in 2017, and construction took a little more than a year.

“Dyer-Kelly has been a real opportunity to be part of a project that is making a difference in an underserved part of our community,” said Lionakis Project Principal Laura Knauss.

“A true source of community pride, the site is providing a safe and secure hub for this neighborhood and elevating the student perception of what a school should be.”

Dyer-Kelly is a Title 1 school that serves three meals a day and provides basic necessities like socks to its students. Located in a diverse neighborhood, in the 2016-17 school year, nearly 400 of its 445 students were refugees, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Former Dyer-Kelly Principal Cassandra Bennett Porter told the Sacramento Bee that when the new campus was being built, officials kept that in mind. As a result, the school has seven wings, each labeled with a different continent and color scheme.

“We wanted to highlight the diverse community that attends this school,” said San Juan Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Frank Camarda in a statement. “People are coming from all over the world.”

A welcome wall is situated near the front of the school with greetings in various languages. Additionally, the blue wing of the new facility represents Europe; the orange is Africa; the red wing is Asia; green represents North America; while fuchsia represents South America. Australia is represented by yellow and turquoise is Antarctica.

The exterior the new school closely resembles a college. The tall horizontal building has the school’s and district’s name in gray metal letters across the top.

Inside the sleek campus, there is a large open space with gray tables. Directly upstairs, there are swiveling chairs, a library twice the size of the previous one, and a multipurpose room where students can eat and mingle.

“Schools really have the potential to really lift a community,” said Principal Gianfranco Tornatore.

“We have experienced teachers who are extremely hardworking and relentless in serving our community. We have students and families who are extremely dedicated. And so, this new building is only going to enhance that.”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Earlier this year, the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) in Sacramento, Calif. held a ceremonial groundbreaking for Mira Loma High School’s new $26.4 million generation science wing. Mira Loma High is an award-winning International Baccalaureate (IB) school.

SJUSD faculty, students and the surrounding community, with architect firm Lionakis, and DPR Construction, general contractor on the project, dug into the staff parking lot with their golden shovels and hard hats to commence the construction of this highly anticipated building.

Construction management firm ICS is overseeing the project in conjunction with San Juan Unified staff.

The two-story science center—which is being funded by Measure N—will span approximately 32,000 square feet and include next-generation biology, chemistry, physics and earth science classrooms, as well as a flexible learning space and outdoor learning environment. The new building will replace the existing science labs from the 1960s, in support of a campus that boasts a nationally ranked Science Olympiad team and a rigorous International Baccalaureate program.

The project will include the installation of rooftop and carport-style photovoltaics. The use of dynamic glass for shading and security concerns is part of the program, as is the concept of “science on display” where the building is also used as a teaching tool and an opportunity to share science concepts throughout.

Hundreds of students, staff and community members also signed their name onto a steel beam that will be installed onto the frame of the new building.

“I think it’s nice that we get to sign this beam, and then all the students will have their name in this building forever,” said Mira Loma sophomore Andy Chittenden.

Frank Camarda, San Juan Unified Assistant Superintendent of Facilities, Maintenance and Transportation, said the building is on track to open by August 2020, in time for the next school year.

“It’s really exciting to see the project come to life. We’ve spent a lot of time doing sitework, so this part, where you see the vertical construction is really exciting.”

Added Science Department Chair James Hill, “It really is a great thing for our campus to actually see it being built.”

The signed steel beam is the final piece that will be installed and will be celebrated by the construction crew with what is known as a “topping out ceremony” where it will be swung into place with an American Flag attached to it.

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Using a Collaborative Design-Build approach, McCarthy plans to deliver a new campus that consists of two classroom buildings and a third administration building that will include a kitchen and flexible, multipurpose space to accommodate the shifting needs of the students and staff. Flexible furniture, multiple writing walls and open spaces for collaboration are key features throughout the facility. A new off-street driving lane for student pick-up and drop-off will also be included to provide additional safety and alleviate road congestion during peak traffic times. Funding for the campus upgrades are supported by Measure P, which voters approved in 2016.

Reflecting the district’s focus on collaborative learning with the Collaborative Design-Build delivery model, the team ultimately arrived at a solution that embraced the end-user and school administration goals established. As part of the school’s recent Open House festivities, McCarthy unveiled a preview of the updated design with a virtual reality walkthrough, which was received with enthusiasm and excitement from students and parents.

“Del Paso Manor is a cornerstone component of the neighborhood, and we worked closely with the broader community to determine the overall needs and features that would best serve all of the project’s end-users,” said Senior Project Manager Andrew Dessling with McCarthy. “The upgrade to all new facilities allows the district to truly support its educational philosophy that ensures students reach their highest academic, social and intellectual potential in a modern, safe environment.”

Construction will begin on October 15, 2018.

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country, and the firm has offices in St. Louis; Atlanta; Collinsville, Ill.; Portage, Ind.; Kansas City, Kan.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Denver; Dallas, Houston; Albuquerque; San Diego, Newport Beach, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif.

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